Dear Debbie;
Are soft pink and blue just for kids’ rooms? I am painting my kitchen wall and like the feeling of pink to go with my dark blue cabinets, but are these baby colours? I’m not sure how to proceed.
— Veronica
Dear Veronica;
Pink is a marvelous colour with shades that range from the softest pink hue to the vibrancy of corals and candies. It’s a feel good colour that adds warmth to any space, but it is important to select the right shade. It does have its garish side and too much of a strong pink can be exhausting. To answer your question, no, pink and blue are not just for kids. A child’s room, like any other room, is made up of a combination of furnishings, fabrics and personal items along with colour/s that combine to give the space its character. Rather than teddy bears and cots, appliances and crockery will dictate the mood.
Shown here is a perfect example of your pink and dark blue colour scheme. It is part of the kitchen in Annie Sloan’s 18th Century farmhouse located in Northwest France. Annie Sloan is a master colourist, who provides a world of inspiration for decorative finishes. Sloan has creatod her own line of Chalk Paint with colours that are derived from an historical palette. Antoinette is the soft pale pink you see on the walls. Sloan tells us that this colour is inspired by “decorative pieces and interiors of 18th Century France when the finest red earths were mixed with white and used to make a clear, but dusky colour for the walls.” The dark blue cupboard is a modern piece, which Sloan gave a rustic look by painting Graphite over Duck Egg Blue and sanding to give it texture. The beamed ceiling adds more charm painted in Louis Blue with soft greenish blue Duck Egg Blue beams. An old wood table, gilded frame and antique chandelier all tell stories of times past.
Dear Debbie;
What’s a tabletop finish that is painterly and fun. I’ve unearthed an old set of tripod tables in my parents’ attic and I’d like to spruce them up.
— Henri
Dear Henri;
Oh, they are classics. What a great find. Check for wobbly legs and if all looks good then create a mid-century modern masterpiece. Terrazzo tile floors and counters were all the rage in the 50s and Annie Sloan tells us it is making a comeback. Featured in The Colourist, Sloan gives step by step instructions on how to mimic the look of this beautiful material. www.anniesloan.com. Terrazzo gives you a great opportunity to play with different colours. Here’s a list of the Chalk Paint colours Sloan used: Duck Egg Blue, Antoinette, Paris Grey, Paloma, Coco, Louis blue and Burgundy. Sloan uses her small flat detail brush to apply the Duck Egg Blue first in random spludges across the white surface. Then adds more colours randomly to fill in the white space. She explains that the point is for the marks to be imperfect the way chunks of marble are in terrazzo. Spacing should be irregular. The paint marks will be thicker and more raised in places — this is good as it will bring texture to the table. Finish with two coats of Clear Chalk Paint Wax.
